Former Houston Astros All-Star Bob Watson dies at age 74

Bob Watson (Google Images)

Former Houston Astros all-star Bob Watson of Los Angeles, California passed away at the age of 74 on Thursday of kidney disease according to Chat Sports. Watson was an all-star with the Astros in 1973 and 1975.

In addition to 14 seasons with the Astros from 1966 to 1979, Watson played part of a season with the Boston Red Sox in 1979 before playing three seasons each with the New York Yankees (1980 to 1982) and the Atlanta Braves (1982 to 1984). In 19 Major League seasons, Watson batted .294 with 184 home runs and 989 runs batted in. During 1832 games, Watson had 6185 at bats, scored 802 runs, and had 1826 hits, 307 doubles, 41 triples, 27 stolen bases, 653 walks, 2767 total bases, an on base percentage of .364 and a slugging percentage of .447.

Watson’s best season came in 1977 with the Astros. That season he had career highs in home runs (22), runs batted in (110), doubles (38), triples (six), stolen bases (five), slugging percentage (.498), and total bases (276).

However, Watson will not always be remembered for his performance on the baseball field as an outfielder and first baseman. After retiring with the Braves in 1984, Watson went on to a distinguished career in baseball off the field. From 1985 to 1988, Watson was the hitting coach for the Oakland Athletics, and then joined the Astros as their assistant general manager on November 23, 1988.

On October 6, 1993, Watson made Major League Baseball history with the Astros. He became only the second African American MLB general manager ever. The first African American Major League Baseball general manager was Bill Lucas of Jacksonville, Florida, who managed the Atlanta Braves from 1976 to 1979.

After two seasons with the Astros in 1994 and 1995, the Yankees named Watson their general manager on October 24, 1995. With the Yankees in 1996, Watson became the first African American general manager to win a World Series. After leaving the Yankees in 1997, Watson became the vice-president of Major League Baseball.